Pioneer soccer wins violent 7-AAA battle against Blue Devils

Some wins are better than others. And Thursday night at Lebanon, the Pioneers? 1-0 win over the Blue Devils proved to be costly for the Warren County squad.

A game which started out to be physical, turned into a very dangerous and out of control conflict, as five varsity and one junior varsity player wound up injured for Warren County.

The Pioneers? lone goal came 28 minutes into the second half when Cody Cowens chipped the ball to freshman Jahir Hernandez, who took the pass off his head and directed it toward his feet, sending the shot to the far post for what would be the game-winning score.

Lebanon?s play became very physical and abusive during the second half. The game grew so violent, officials eventually blew the whistle to end the contest early.

In the first half Warren County had three attempts at goal to the Blue Devils? one, and in the second half the Pioneers had a 6-3 advantage in shots at goal.

?This was the dirtiest team we have played,? said coach Keith Hamilton. ?We had five guys to go down, and the refs did nothing about it. They were coming in hard after the ball with their cleats up and cleatting our guys? ankles and knees. I talked with the officials after the game and told them that their first responsibility was to ensure the safety of the players, and they had failed to do so tonight.?

Two players for Warren County had to be taken to the emergency room for X-rays, with one ? sophomore Wesley Minton ? breaking his arm in two places. He was scheduled for surgery early Friday morning to have a plate and pins put in his arm.

The game was a very hard-fought game on a bad field against a physically abusive team, and I?m proud of the way our guys held their composure under the circumstances,? stated Hamilton.

The Pioneers will have little time to mend as Warren County will travel to Cookeville on Tuesday for another district showdown.